Erskine Press Building

17 East 13th Street | Greenwich Village | built 1910

Open on the map4 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1911

   May

   The Henschel estate builds a two-story printing shop for Erskine Press

   In May 1911 the Henschel estate agrees to put up a new building for Erskine Press at No. 17, replacing the converted dwelling that Butterick Publishing had leased. Architect George Turland Goosey files plans for a two-story structure costing $3,500. His design uses an outdated Italianate style with a bracketed cornice and a facade of storefront windows and red brick. A service alley on the east side lets in extra light.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1911

   Erskine Press moves into the new building at No. 17

   Archibald Erskine, a carpenter who arrived from Scotland around 1867, added a job-printing business, Erskine Press, to his building firm in 1895, at No. 22 across the street. By the time the press moves into the new building he is 81 and retired. His sons Archibald Jr. and George Chambers, involved since about 1897, run it, and the press is listed at the address until 1933.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1933

   The Villager newspaper moves into the building

   In 1933 Walter and Isabel Bryan found The Villager, a weekly newspaper, and move the fledgling operation into No. 17. Its masthead describes a paper that reflects the best traditions of Washington Square and Greenwich Village. By 1944 the paper has moved to roomier quarters.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1944

   Anais Nin runs her Gemor Press from the building

   Writer Anaïs Nin and her partner Gonzalo More, who bought a $75 treadle platen press in 1941, move their Gemor Press into the building in 1944. It has a larger press there and publishes Nin's This Hunger in 1945 along with work by other authors such as Max Ernst. Nin writes that the press collapsed under a mountain of debts, and it leaves East 13th Street in 1946.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The 1911 Erskine Press Building - 17 East 13th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
• The most charming building on East 13th StreetEphemeral New York

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